Amended rules on insurance supervision. The revised Insurance Supervisory Law has been in effect since January 1 2006. The need for further revision has been revealed through lessons learned from the global economic and financial crisis and the introduction of risk-based solvency measuring methods including:
the Swiss Solvency Test;
the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority’s 2011 equivalence test; and
l the Financial Sector Assessment Programme of the International Monetary Fund’s 2013 analysis.

Nanotechnology – can insurance play a role in regulation? Nanomaterials are often referred to as the key technology of the 21st century. However, the effects of nanoparticles, especially in the long term, are unknown due to a lack of scientific data. This uncertainty represents a major challenge for both the legislature and the insurance industry if they play a role in regulation.

Supreme Court decides on ambiguous clauses in general insurance terms. The Federal Supreme Court recently issued a decision(1) on the rule of ambiguity in the context of the interpretation of general insurance terms. The court found that a provision which excludes accidents as a result of the deliberate causation of a crime or offence is neither considered unusual nor ambiguous, and can therefore be validly be relied upon by the insurer.